Australian-French Cultural Exchange

A big welcome to two volunteers from Melbourne Australia, Maree Johns and Michelle Coker who are in France to study the French language and to experience the French culture.

Maree works as a Patient Services Clerk in the Emergency department in a hospital in Melbourne and is currently undertaking a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology and Communications. She is embarking on an eight month long journey to live, study and travel in France and has made La Giraudiere a part of her journey to meet like-minded people from around the world. Maree has taken on the responsibility of gardening and maintaining the grounds of La Giraudiere.

Michelle works in Finance and Administration and is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Visual Culture Degree back in Melbourne. She regularly talks about her vast expriences with travelling and is thrilled to be at La Giraudiere – her top choice for volunteer programs in France. Michelle has come to the south west of France to fall in love with the French culture and to learn more about its history and language. Michelle has been a big help in the Old House by working on dry wall and other things around the property.

Welcome to La Giraudiere Maree and Michelle! We look forward to working with you for the duration of your stay and we hope you have a great time volunteering in the south west of France.

Volunteers in Southwest France learn to mix and mingle at a local village fete celebrating St. Joan of Arc.

The fete, or French festival,celebrates religion, historical stories, art, wine, and food, as well as music and film. It is a wonderful opportunity to sample regional food and cultural ties.

Ubiquitous throughout the year, one can participate in a fete all over France, in the large cities as well as in rural towns and villages. After spying a poster for a fete celebrating Jeanne d’Arc or Joan of Arc, our fearless leader and La Giraudiere host, Paul Rice, phoned in reservations for seven curious volunteers to participate in the local fete.

Like many small hamlets in Southwest France, the village of Passirac holds any number of fetes during the warm months, which not only brings the community together, but brings much needed funds into the village coffers.

The delightfully warm evening started out with formal introductions to the French locals as well as some English expats. While I observed that all the locals greeted each other with “les bisous” or kisses, we simply shared a friendly handshake and smile. Introductions were quickly followed by apéritifs, which was an opportunity to work our narrow language skills. I however, quickly realized that the real challenge was to come, that of mixing and  mingling with the locals, and the art of small talk.

I found that the best tactic was to use as much body language and lively facial expressions as possible, in order to supplement my limited French. This seemed to work very well and got me past a number of bonjours without the embarrassing silence that can often follow. While the village only charges 1 – 1.50 euro per drink, this is where they make their money, so the apéritif hour was pretty long. We all however, made it through to the diner hour happy, hungry, and with a lighter heart.

We rounded the evening with a bonfire symbolizing the burning of Joan of arc, followed by the lighting of Chinese lanterns and lively dancing back in the hall. Everyone, both young and old, locals and visitors, as well as the shy and gregarious, danced the night away in honor of St.Joan of Arc.

As we said our bonjours, I knew we had made inroads into the community when a few of us received bisous upon our departure.

Join us this Summer at La Giraudiere and experience true cultural immersion in SouthWest France.

As we said our bonjours, I knew we had made inroads into the community when a few of us received bisous upon our departure.

France.

à bientôt,

Mayra Pena 🙂 (Volunteer)

Have you ever dreamed of a French cultural immersion experience in the southwest of France? Five adventurous volunteers from La Giraudiere did and share there experience here.

The culturally vibrant city of Bordeaux is an art lover’s playground, filled with grand architecture, elaborate bridges, sculptures, museums, galleries, and fine art that spans the ages. With that in mind, a group of five La Giraudiere volunteers in southwest France set out for a weekend visit to what is often referred to as the “Little Paris”, Bordeaux.

Traveling by Train:

 We were dropped off at the nearby Chalis “gare” (train station), where we were well on our way. The trip took little over one hour as the train passed through rural towns and villages before arriving at the Bordeaux-Saint-Jean, the main railway statin in Bordeaux.

After a quick stop at the nearby tourist office, where we bought a two day city pass for 30 euros, we set a meet up time for the evening]s dinner and split up into different groups. As for myself, I decided to go solo.

Travel Tip – Buy the Bordeaux City Pass

I would highly recommend buying the Bordeaux City pass for one to three days.  It provides access to museums and temporary exhibitions, guided tours, etc., and unlimited use of all forms of public transportation, for example the tram, bus or boat shuttle.  It offers a  “hands free” use, as you will not need to take out any money or sign for a credit card. Instead, you can enjoy the convenience of just flashing a card.

I used the city pass to enjoy such sites as:

• The Aquitaine Museum or Musée d’Aquitaine, which has a collection of objects related to the history of Bordeaux and Aquitaine from prehistoric to the modern era.
• The Museum of Decorative Arts or Musée des Arts decoratifs, located in the hotel Lalande, presents ceramics, furniture, paintings, prints, sculptures, glassware and silverware.
• The Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux is the fine arts museum. It is one of the largest art galleries of France outside Paris.  Its collections include paintings, sculptures and drawings. The painting collection is the largest one and its strong points are works by French and Dutch painters.
• Glidding along the Gironne on the “BatCub”, shuttle boat, to enjoy the extraordinary view of the facades along the waterfront, and the bridges of Bordeaux.

All in all, the City Pass was well worth it, as it paid for itself and more.

To learn more about how you can realize your dreams of cultural immersion in France, visit our website here.

à bientôt,

Mayra Pena 🙂 (Volunteer)

Work and Pleasure Blur During Working Vacation for Volunteers in Southwest France

Volunteering at La Giraudiere, in Southwest  France offers a balance of activity and leisure, pleasure as well as industry. That is what I find so dynamic about staying here for my first foray into France, or Europe for that matter.

The work week at La Giraudiere starts on a Tuesday and ends on Thursday leaving four days, Friday through Monday, to explore the whole of France- “pour le plaisir”. Since I arrived Thursday evening, my first days were channeled entirely towards the recreational side of the week, although work and play seem to blur somewhat while volunteering at La Giraudiere.

A delightful day trip was planned to explore a few of the villages and towns in the Charente-Maritime region of France, Pons, Talmont, and St. Palais.

Pons

The first leg of our excursion was at Pons, one of the main towns in the southern part of the Charente-Maritime.

Ideally located on the road to Saint-Jacques de Compostela, Pons became an active religious center covering churches, monastic orders and even a hospital for pilgrims. It is now a leading tourist city.

The site is dominated by the silhouette of its iconic Romanesque tower, complete with a medieval dungeon. Perched on top of a rocky promontory, the views from the hilltop where we enjoyed our morning  “chocolat chaud”, coffee and a croissant, were stunning.

Talmont-sur-Gironde

The town of Talmont-sur-Gironde is, practically speaking, an island. With the exception of the town’s inhabitants, no cars are allowed within this once ancient citadel, a “walled town”. Situated on the Gironde estuary, Talmont has been awarded the famous Les Plus Beaux Villages de France.   As you wander through the flower filled streets and alleyways, you are easily transported to the Middle Ages, and can see why cars are not allowed into this quaint and tiny village.

While we were there, we happened upon a film crew as they were filming for a Hollywood movie. The inside of the intimate yet stunning chapel had been transformed and brought to life with monks and nuns wearing ancient garb, in a somewhat “misty” interior. There is also a charming restaurant at Talmont  where one could feast on local French food. We however, moved onto our next stop, the coastal village of St. Palais.

St. Palais

Saint-Palais, which is a city also created because of the road to Compostelam, has a mix of ancient charm and a more “modern” flair, as many of the old buildings were destroyed during the second world war. That said, there is certainly no lack of beauty and appeal in this thriving beach city.

We arrived at the lovely beaches of St. Palias just in time for lunch and relished our meal at  Les Quimperoises creperie. The  afternoon was spent swimming in the ocean, lying on the beach, or by a poolside enjoying a drink.

Relais-Routiers

We rounded out our day with an unexpected stop at a “relais-routiers”, a French truck stop.

 This fun option, for the brave, was truly a unique experience. The relais-routier, which offers food, wine, and sleeping accommodations for truckers is also open to families, holiday makers, and anyone else willing to give it a try.

We were pleasantly suprised to savor a complete meal including a main course with vegetables, a complete buffet with a variety of salads, pâté, mussels, cold meats and  more, as well as delicious dessert and cheese. To top it off, you could buy a small pitcher of wine for, get this, half a euro.

We had a full and delightful day going from medieval and ancient villages all the way to a gourmet truck stop. Now that is real cultural immersion.

If you think you are a prime candidate to participate in and experience a truly uncommon and eclectic experience in the Southwest of France, visit our volunteer page for more information.

à bientôt,

Mayra Pena 🙂 (Volunteer)